Ghosts of my past
by duckmadgirl
Summary: Kate McGregor joins HMAS Hammersley but events cause the ghosts of the past to appear things aren't always what they seem. how will kate cope and can she last the 6 months
1. Chapter 1

Kate ran up the stairs at the naval headquarters in Cairns. She hated being late and today was one of those days when being late was messing with all her plans. It was the worst time to be late, she was about to meet the CO and commander for her new posting. First impressions were everything and being unpunctual was a pretty poor impression added to the fact she was in a double minority in the armed forces.

All she knew of this new posting is that it would be on the patrol boats. The only real ships that operated out of Cairns. They weren't her ideal of a posting. They were small and cramped and with the Fremantle class some of which were still operating had technology and equipment that looked like it belonged in a cold war film. She would grin and bear it for the mandatory 6 months and then request a transfer back to the big ships. With their long deployments there was always a oppertunaty to improve and learn. The only real advantage she could come up with for the patrol, boat service was the fact deployments were usually short so being back on base would mean her social life might improve.

Reaching the second floor she walked along the corridor looking for the right office. Coming to a stop outside the office of a Commander Marshall, she paused smoothing out the creases in her blouse before knocking.

"yeah " a voice called from inside

Taking a deep breath she opened the door. Walking in she saw a middle-aged man sat behind the desk. Commander Marshall she assumed. There was another officer sat in the seat opposite. He turned to see who this new person in the room was, and Kate found her self staring in to the steel blue eyes of a ghost from her past, someone she once knew, someone she had once loved...

_HMAS Watsons 2002_

_Kate McGregor ran along the bright corridors of the training building at Watsons bay. She was late as usual. It wasnt that she meant to be late but some how time always seemed to be against her. This time is was nothing to do with her the building she was in was like a Maze that even Theseus would find hard to navigate round. Each corridor seemed to be in a different building that was all interconnected with each room and floor having a different code. _

_She eventually found the right room after 30 minuets of looking. Pushing the door open with a clatter she interrupted the Lieutenant commander that was taking the class._

_"__nice that you could Join us Lieutenant..."_

_"__Kate ,McGregor" she tried to hide her face "sorry I am late sir I got lost" she finished in a whisper._

_"__you got lost" he tried not to smile but it was a original excuse that was rather funny in a way especially considering the course she was on and in there line of work._

_"__yes sir" she began walking towards the seats_

_"__yet you still had time for a coffee"_

_"__well...I...Ummm" she couldn't think of a answer. Coffee was the only thing that got her through things like this but constant training was a must in the navy they all had to be on the top of their game. _

_"__its okay" he smiled "welcome to whats left of the first lecture of your advanced navigation course. I am Lieutenant Commander Flynn. Take a seat"_

_Kate looked around the only seats left available were right on the front row. Its not that she didn't like the front row in school it was her usual haunt but some how it felt strange sitting right in front of him. Sitting down she pulled out her note book and a pen, trying to avoid his gaze but steeling looks when she thought he wasnt looking. He was rather handsome in a way, his eyes looked like a storm brewing out at sea or a deep lagoon of the coast of a deserted island. Closing her eye she told her self to stop, she was there to learn and improve her skills and anyway the navy were really strict with their fratiznation rules she could loose her job _

"lieutenant ..."

She was brought back to reality by the calls of Commander Marshall

"sorry I am late Sir I got lost" she tried to avoid his gaze

"not to worry. Cairns can be difficult to navigate if your not used to the lay out." He smiled "This is Lieutenant Commander Flynn , the CO of HMAS Hammersley. You will be serving as the executive officer on Hammersley.

"Sir" she kept her eyes facing forward away from his gaze.

They were given notice for see in 2 hours. As they walked out Mike touched her arm, trying to

"Kate, its good to see you, how are you"

"Sir" she smiled trying to keep it professional "I need to collect my things from the car so I guess I will see you onboard" she walked as quick as she could with out making it look like she was bolting. Rounding the corner she leant against the wall breathing deep. Trying to supress her feelings Why had fate been so cruel to her. It had broken her heart last time and It was still healing the cracks still raw in her mind. Everything in the past 5 years had changed, she had changed after he had left she had been posted on Anzac in the gulf it was brutal the things she saw and they were fired upon and only just made it out. She just hoped the next 6 months would breeze by and then she could run back to the frigates and move on with her ambitions and become chief of navy.


	2. Chapter 2

When Kate arrived at Hammersley mike was waiting at the gangway overseeing the supplies being loaded.

"X" he smiled "you found us alright then"

"Yes" she shot him daggers. She gets lost once, well twice and he uses it against her.

"we sail in 30 minuets, I'll get the Nav to show you to your cabin" he looked at her

"its fine I think I can find it" she huffed walking over the gangway saluting the ensign.

_Watsons Bay 2002_

_Kate made sure that she gave her self plenty of time to find the classroom. It was only her second day but she didn't want a repeat of the previous day and she still wasnt 100% sure of the right way. As soon as she walked in to the building she spotted a piece of paper stuck to the doors leading to the stairwell. It was written in bright blue writing she didn't recognise. _

_'__McGregor follow the map maybe you wont get lost today' _

_Pulling the page off she was intrigued. There was no name from the author turning it over she found a map on the back of the page. Following it she made it to the room with plenty of time to spare. Mike was sat at the desk looking over some papers._

_When Kate walked in he looked up. _

_"__ah Lieutenant McGregor nice and early. I am guessing the map helped" he smiled _

_"__it did, Sir thank you. "she smiled at him "Only one problem isn't there usually chocolate or treasure at the end of a trail?" she didn't take her eyes off him. Eyes flickering trying to read his thoughts _

_He half laughed "well" he began but was interrupted by the rest of the class arriving slowly _

Kate turned back round to face him "on second thoughts some help would be appreciated. She followed the Nav who was a lieutenant and also her cabin mate.

she was strangely reminded of her sort of first date with mike back in 2002

_Kate was sat In her room, it was a miserable Sunday morning and the rain hadn't let up for the last half of the week. She had completed her first week and was going over her notes in case there was a recap test on Monday as there usually was or there had been in the past. _

_Her eye was caught by a brightly coloured envelope that had been shoved under her door. Intrigued she picked it up and opened the door. The corridor was deserted with no sign of the person who had delivered the letter. Closing the door there she opened the envelope and found a typed letter with coordinates and a note _

_'__meet me here M. X' _

_Smiling she looked out the window. There looked like there might be a break in the weather. Shoving her trainers on she grabbed her coat and ran down to her car and inputted the co-ordinates in to her GPS_

_After 30 minuets of driving the sat-nav announced she had reached her destination. She had pulled up at a maize maze on the out skirts of the city. Attached to the board at the entrance was a second note saying _

_'__follow the trail to find the treasure' _

_Pulling the paper off she smiled and walked in to the maze. Following the map she eventually reached the centre and found mike standing waiting. _

_"__you took your time McGregor" he laughed _

_"__yeah... I got lost" she stepped towards him "so where is my treasure" she smiled eyes glinting _

_Looking over mike smiled she looked beautiful with the last of the summer sun streaming down bringing out the natural highlights in her blond locks. Leaning in he kissed her. Pulling away Kate was unsure, until now she was enjoying their friendship, this was a whole new thing not to mention breaking all the navy regulations on fratiznation_

_"__whats wrong" he asked looking in to her eyes _

_"__I .." she paused before leaning in kissing him deeper than before _

Her first day had been a disaster her first boarding and she had thrown up over the side. It wasnt that she got sea sick but the smell of the Trochus that was all over the deck of the FFV. It was vile and she swore it was clinging to her uniform and hair. She had used half a bottle of shampoo and was still sure she could smell it burning in to her nostrils. After showering she changed in to her formal mess uniform walking out of her cabin she bumped straight in to him.

"X" he smiled

"sir" she tried to edge round him

"um we don't normally Dress for dinner"

"oh I didn't know" she felt embarrassed of course they didn't. There was only three officers on board compared to the 15 that was normally on a frigate.

"talk to the navigator she will bring you up to speed on out little ways"

"I am sure I can pick these things up"

she pushed her way back in to her cabin reminded of her first official date with him when clothes had once again been a issue.

_Watsons bay_ _2002_

_"__so you cant tell me where we are going?" Kate asked down the phone, lay on her bed _

_"__nope its a surprise" mikes voice came back down the phone_

_"__seriously just tell me please" Kate begged frustrated. She needed to know these sort of things, was it a smart place or casual heals or flats dress or trousers. How could she plan a outfit if she didn't know what was about to happen. _

_"__just wait and see" she could hear him smiling. It was clear to him that she liked to be in control and hated it when things were beyond what she could control _

_"__you clearly have no idea what it like being a woman" she laughed _

_"__I am glad sounds like a mine field" he laughed "see you tomorrow. Ill meet you at the guard house at 6 " he rang off_

_The following evening Kate ran towards the guard house jumping over the kerb holding her shoes. She finally made it. 15 minutes late _

_"__I was beginning to think you had got lost" mike smiled as she ran towards him_

_"__hey" she hit him playfully on the arm. "if you had told me where we were going then I may have been on time. Will this do?" she asked turning in a simple flowery maxi dress with a contrasting cardigan and gladiator sandals_

_"__perfect" he smiled leading her towards his car_

_After 40 minuets of driving they finally arrived at their destination. A secluded cove _

_"__the beach?" Kate asked puzzled. She was expecting a restaurant or something like that _

_"__a picnic on the beach" smiled opening his door and climbing out._

_They spent the evening watching the waves crashing against the rocks and the sun sinking behind the horizon. The sunset setting the sky alight with fiery reds and golds _

She sat on her rack remembering that perfect evening and the morning that followed. She had missed her curfew and didn't fancy shimmying up the drainpipe to get in to her room. She had spent the night with him. Waking up and seeing him next to her and the past 12 hours hadn't been a dream. She was the happiest she had ever felt. she wished it could last forever

**huge thanks for the reviews of Chapter 1. it was more the fact of getting lost on the way to a navigation course and being a skilled navigator rather than the late but I love that to. this is still episode one and I may move on not sure if I can think of more from EP1. hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think **

**duckmadgirl xx **


	3. Chapter 3

Kate had been on Hammersley and was slowly getting used to the way of the patrol boats. They were very different to the frigates that she was used to. One was a school bus and the other a v8 supercar, well according to Nav. Which was true In a way the patrol boats were smooth in the way they turned where as frigates you had to give a few clicks notice before you wanted to change course. Nav was a enigma she was all in to the fast cars and yet strangely very girly. In one sense she reminded Kate a lot of her self in a way when she first started out.

They were inserting 2 federal police agents on to Bright island, to investigate the death of the marine biologist who they had tried to rescue only last week. Kate felt partly responsible for her death. She had given permission for one of the engines to be taken down resulting in a delay for them in getting to the island. She couldn't help thinking if she had left the engine be then they would have gotten there faster and she may have survived. She had never seen anyone actually die before. She was there one minute and the next she just stopped breathing. It was always unnerving when there was a death on board.

It had been a rough few days for everyone then the crowning glory for Kate was she accidently steered the ship in to the so called inviable man. She had hit a submerged buoy because she had to correct her bearing by 10 degrees. This was to the amusement of the male members of the crew who took great delight in making the usual woman driver jokes.

Making her way up to the look out above the bridge she wanted to hide but Mike followed her out.

"chefo complaining because we stopped the ship with out asking him" he made light of the situation. He like Kate had heard the jokes the lads were making

"I seem to become a figure of fun to the ship's company sir" she picked the dried fruits throwing them out to sea.

"well ship this size fun is one of the things that smooths off the edges" he tried to make light of it. True as it was there was a fine line between banter fun and disrespect. And fun was one of the things that made the job bearable. With some of the things they saw you had to have a warped sense of humour other wise you would go crazy.

"its humiliating" how could she be expected to be a leader and do her job if she was the butt of everyone's jokes

"Kate..." he hated seeing her like this.

"Please don't call me that Sir" she looked at her feet. Why did he have to do that. When ever he called her by name her heart skipped a beat but she also hated it for what he did.

"X you cant get everything right first time around"

"you think I don't know that" she looked right at him. It was a painful reminder of the first navigation ex-ped to test their skills everything had gone wrong although it wasnt all enterally her fault.

_2002 Colo Heights New South Wales _

_"__right 2 teams. Team Alpha, team leader McGregor with Fletcher, Price ,Bray Jones and Cook. Team Bravo, team leader Edwards with Smith Barret Henn Mason and Harrison. You will be dropped at 2 different points about 23 clicks away and will have to navigate your way back to this point." Mike stood in front of the class in the carpark in the centre of town _

_He handed each team a radio compass GPS device and a map of the local area. _

_"__right good luck. Stay focused and stay safe. This is not a race, it is to see what your navigation skills are like. There are no prizes for getting back first."_

_He watched as each team climbed on to there respective mini-bus. This was going to be a tough test. All be it inland and not near the coast it would test their skills of reading maps and charts and using the Navy's latest GPS technology. _

_Team Alpha arrived at their location and decamped off the mini bus. They were surrounded by spectacular blue rivers and lakes _

_"__hey look Heidi-hi youll be right at home in the mountains " Fletcher turned grinning to the only other woman on the course. _

_"__that's Switzerland you Drongo" she rolled her eyes _

_Kate lay the map out on a near-by rock. "can we get back to the point please. Right so we are here" she pointed to the mountain lagoon region. "at 33,26,25 south 150,38,05 east. And we need to get back to 33,22,08 south 150,43,19 east." She traced her finger along the map trying to find a clear route safe of obstacles. "if we take this path here we can go along the main road and the trail. It should take about 6 hours"_

_"__seriously" fletcher rolled his eyes sarcastically _

_"__what is your problem Perry?" Kate whipped her head round to look at him_

_"__nothing. Just if we went this way then we would get back much quicker" he drew a line with the pencil as a route as the crow flies. _

_"__yes but look at that route. There is no real path ways and we don't know if there are cliffs or where the river crossings are. I am the team leader so we will go this way" Kate stood her ground. She had come across this before men thinking she was just a silly girl who couldn't read a map. _

_Some how with just over 10 clicks to go Fletcher had managed to cause a munity and take control of the group leading them off the course planed by Kate and off track in to the bush. Resulting in Heidi slipping down a steep embankment and falling hard on to a ledge some 20 foot below them._

_"__happy now" Kate growled at Perry_

_"__not my fault if the stupid girl cant keep her balance" he shrugged _

_"__oh shut up and go and see if there is a way down so we can help her" Kate hissed before pulling the radio out of her backpack. "Team Alpha to Base over.." she waited for a responce _

_"__this is base whats the problem McGregor" mikes voice came back quickly with a tone of panic _

_"__Sir we need a medi-vac. Sub-lieutenant Jones has been injured and we are unable to reach her. We are at position 33,25,03 south 150,42,25 east"_

Thankfully on that occasion her class mate had been okay but it all could have been different and ended a front line sea career and left the poor girl sat behind a desk for her whole career. If she had stood her ground and not allowed her team to go off course.

Everything on the island was weird. Mike had come ashore with them and when they got there Dr Morell the colleague of the dead woman was on the island even though the feds believed the answers to the death was somewhere on that island. She was as subtidal as a gun making straight for mike and ignoring everyone else. It didn't help matters that mikes eyes were on storks the second he saw her emerge on to the beach in that bikini.

It didn't help matters when later Kate questioned it all with her being in the island and relating to men better than woman. He practically accused her of being paranoid and stated it wasnt his fault that her nose was out of joint because another woman paid him some interested. He was being like a alpha male. Like a lion who had a pride of lionesses to chose his queen from

**so this is episode 2. I don't really know what the course would have entailed so I made a lot of it up. I do wonder what the think kate "didn't get right first time round" was. anyway hope you enjoy and please leave a review or drop me a PM **


	4. Chapter 4

This second patrol didn't end as badly as the first. After dropping the feds off on Bright island NAVCOM had spoken with the federal police and discovered the buoy that Kate had sailed in to was part of large drugs ring bringing drugs in to the country. It was a collection point. A large foreign ship would drop the drugs at this point then a smaller Australian registered boat would pick them up and bring them in to port. Bypassing customs checks because they were pleasure craft and not a cargo boat. In a way it was quite ingenious in a way if it wasnt for the illegal element.

Hammersley was the nearest asset and was tasked with a watch and wait operation on the buoy. To make any charge stick they had to catch the smugglers in the act otherwise they could claim it was planted.

They tracked a boat making for the point but just before it reached the buoy it turned away. It must have been sophisticated set up. They had made sure all communications were secure and that they were well hidden behind the horizon, some how they must have spotted them. So despite the watch and wait orders Mike decided to investigate. Sending ET and Swain as divers and Kate and Buffer to keep watch on the surface.

"what drew you to patrol boats buffer?" Kate asked keen to know. He looked like the macho type who would be much more at home on a big ship serving over seas.

"patrol boats suit me better. Less formal tighter team and I love the boats." He looked over at Kates face "you seem surprised" he smiled

"no. Horses for courses I guess" she smiled weakly

"and your not a horse for this course?" he asked. From the moment she had arrived she had made it clear that she was just waiting to get on to a frigate.

"this being the navy I go where I am sent and learn to like it." She looked out the water had began to bubble. "somethings wrong" she called looking out for the 2 that were below the surface.

Swain and ET had only been under for a few moments before rapidly surfacing and they only just managed to pull them in to the dingy before the buoy exploded.

After tracking the boat they followed steaming through the night at a discreet distance so as not to get caught. They boarded at first light. It was a surprise that there were only 2 people on board and the boat didn't look like it could track boats. After finding a sizable amount of drugs on board the usual excuses came out. Those aren't mine I lent it to a mate. One of the crew who had identified himself as Julian Wiseman broke free from his restraints and tried to use his radio. Stating his brother was making a second pick up and if the last one was booby-trapped then this one was more than likely too.

"okay I need a position" Kate pulled the maps and charts in front of them

"you Gotta make sure you stop Stewart making the pick up" Wiseman babbled

"A POSITION MR WISEMAN NOW!" she called slamming her hand down on the map.

After relaying the information back to Hammersley they went after the second boat whilst Kate stayed aboard the first one with spider steaming back to base to hand the crew over to the feds. They had been slowly steaming towards Cairns when Hammersley radioed through with a out come. They had made it to the location but only to see the aftermath of the bomb going off

Julian didn't take too kindly to hearing that Hammersley didn't make it in time poring his anger out on Kate grabbing her by the Kevlar vest. In one swift move she had his hands off her and his arms behind his back. Both men were then cuffed to the rails until they got back to base. After giving a sit-rep to Hammersley about how far out of base they were she walked and sat next to Julian.

"you gotta help put these people in jail" she looked at him he would be the only one who really could help if he didn't give names then he would be the one that would go down.

"oh yeah and what would you know. Middle class chicks like you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth" he scoffed

"really" she smirked

"yeah" Julian continued to scoff

"I've got a brother. Well had a brother..."

_HMAS Anzac 2003:_

_Rubbing her eyes Kate closed the door of her cabin. The last few days had been tough as they were preparing the upcoming tour of the gulf as they were on immediate notice to sail at the drop of a hat. First watch had just started and all she wanted to do was sleep before she was next on duty. _

_"__lieutenant McGregor report to the ships office at the rush" a voice came over the pipe. _

_Sighing she pulled her self out of her rack and made her way through the corridors to the ships office. Knocking she opened the door and found the lieutenant commander who was officer of the watch. _

_"__McGregor there is some one at the guard house demanding to see you"_

_"__sir" she was confused this was normally a problem for the police on the base not ships crew_

_"__well off you go" he said dismissing her "its not the century's job do deal with your personal drama. I'll give you 40 minuets"_

_Sprinting across the base she slowed as she reached the guard house chest burning slightly. She could see her brother arguing with the duty guard._

_"__Kit-kat" he looked up calling her as he saw her. _

_"__its okay Cerberus" Kate smiled at the guard who shook his head and went back in to the little cabin. He knew better than to get involved in other peoples drama._

_"__you are going to get me shot at dawn at this rate" Kate hissed pulling him away from the gate. _

_"__they still do that?" he asked taking it in it was clear he was as high as a kite_

_"__what do you want George" she sighed yawning. She was too tiard to deal with this latest drama_

_" __cant I just come and see my baby sister" he moved to hug her _

_"__err no" she stepped back she could smell the wacky-baccy fumes a mile off "I am on base and it is 22:00 i should be in my rack we are getting deployed any day now" _

_"__i'll make it quick then " he scoffed "I need to borrow some dosh about 4K"_

_"__4,000 bucks are you serious I don't have that kind of money."_

_"__sure you must you live on a boat don't ya" _

_"__no I WORK on a war ship big difference and I don't know how much you think lieutenants earn but it isn't that much"_

_"__oh come on Kit Kat please i'll pay you back I need this money"_

_"__yeah like you have the last 10K you borrowed. Don't think I don't know what its for"_

_"__please Kate when did you stop caring about family" _

_"__family please you never cared about that. Just get lost George and don't bother me again" she retreated back to the safety of the gate._

_2 days later en route to the gulf_

_"__Lieutenant McGregor report to the ships office at the rush" _

_Knocking on the office door for the second time in as many hours, she was surprised to see that it was the CO that had called her. _

_"__Sir" she said nervously _

_"__Lieutenant McGregor take a seat" he waited till Kate had sat at the table."there is no easy way to say this but your brother was found dead this morning in a car just outside of Sydney."_

_"__what?" She staired at him. It was only the other day she had spoke to him_

_"__now we can arrange for the halo to take you back to base.."_

_"__NO!" she called louder than she had intended "thank you sir but I cut him out of my life a long time ago and I just want to do my job and get on with this tour" _

_After leaving the office she ran through the ship till she got to her cabin closing the door behind her she slid to the floor and sobbed. Despite the addiction to drugs he was, had been her big brother and she looked up to him growing up he protected her from the bullies at school. _

When they got back to base the feds took the offenders in to custardy. After dealing with all the formalities that came with a prisoner hand over. Kate stood on the deck talking with mike she was explaining how well spider had done

"you know he is under the impression that you are wonder woman " mike smiled at her

"oh you didn't already know" she grinned reminded of a fancy dress party that was on the base they they went to. He had gone as superman and the only costume she could find was that of wonder woman. She liked it as wonder woman knew her own mind and didn't allow anyone to stand in her way "you know he will do well on a big ship and I think we should recommend him"

"what is it with you and big ships?" mike asked. It sounded like she was determined to get on a big ship and that everyone else should be on one too like nobody chose the patrol boats.

"its where the action is"

Kate watched as Mike walked off the ship and towards Ursula. The way he looked at her was painful, it was the same way he looked at her. Taking a deep breath she followed them off the ship. The crew were in the pub and she decided to join them she wasn't going to let mike stop her from having fun.

**so the flashbacks are not in any order and will jump about so I am still planning some of mike and kates time at watsons bay as well as possiably some of kates initial training if I think they fit. enjoy and let me know what you think x **


	5. Chapter 5

Kate quickly learnt that life on the patrol was never dull and each day could be different from the last and yet strangely the same, boarding FFV's and upholding Australian law and customs regulations at sea. It was critically nice to be in port more and have shore leave every 3 or so weeks.

This patrol saw them doing night time surveillance on a FFV in the Arfura sea. It was tricky to see exactly what was going on but they could make out the long lines in the water. It was shark they were after, well shark fin.

"what just the fins Sir?" spider asked

"yeah" Nav called "they cut the fins off and then throw the shark back. Its really cruel."

It was well known that there would be more than one boat out there, all servicing a mother ship who would conveniently be sat just on the other side of the line out of reach.

"we'll lie off just below the horizon and take them at first light" mike ordered

As soon as the sun rose preparations for the boarding began and it didn't take too long for the little sea boat to bounce across the waves to the fishing boat. The deck was wet because of the catch and there were racked covered with shark fin. It was a awful sight and Kate dreaded to think how many poor sharks had been killed for this so called delicacy. It was a tragic waste especially considering they had to ditch it back in the ocean.

After RO came over and managed to translate getting information about the mothership that was about 20 miles to the north, east of them. Unfortunately they couldn't go after it on this occasion because they had to tow the other boat back to base and hand it over to customs. It was annoying for all but they knew the mothership would be back and they would not doubt be able to get it on another occasion especially as they had the boats name.

As they were heading back to base NAVCOM asked if they could detour slightly and pick up a passenger from Bright island. This was new to Kate.

"a passenger sir?" she asked

"yeah its not that unusual we do approved transport from time to time"

It felt like the navy was just being used as a glorified taxi I mean who ever was on the island clearly went their on their own seem why couldn't they get back. When they arrived at the shores of Bright island and Kate asked about going ashore Mike said he would go him self as he felt like some exercise. Looking ahead she saw the person emerge from the bush, looking through her binoculars only confirmed her suspicions of who it was. Ursula Morell. It was unbearable at dinner she was talking as if they were stopped from doing their job because of her, like everything was about her."

_Greenwood senior high school 1990_

_Walking through the dinning hall Kate looked around for a empty seat. Unfortunately for her the only seat available was at the end of the so called mean girls table. Sitting down she tried to make her self unnoticeable. She watched as the ring-leader Beth-Ann made glad eyes at the poor guy she had dragged to sit with them. It was heart-breaking as he was the only half decent guy in school and also happened to be the boy Kate really liked. _

_Unable to watch any longer she picked up her tray and made to leave she couldn't eat anything anyway. _

_"__aww does ickel Kate Bloomer have to hide in her books" Beth-Ann laughed and the others followed suit all cackling. As Kate walked out she turned looking back, Beth-Ann looked like the cat who had got the cream..._

"X are you not officer of the watch this evening" mike asked seeing the tension between his XO and their passenger.

"yes I am sorry sir" she called "I was having so much fun I almost forgot I had some where else to be" she forced a polite smile at Ursula. "please excuse me" she walked out just glad to be out of there. It was midnight when she got off watch and it was a fairly uneventful evening as they were only going around 6 knots and were towing a FFV.

Walking out on deck she needed some air. She liked the cool breeze and the night air looking down she saw Mike talking with Ursula. He was pulling her coat round her.

_Sydney 2002_

_It was a glorious day with the sun shining even if it was a little chilly. Kate and mike had spent the day walking around the city finishing up strolling around Hyde park. They were walking up the tree lined path that lead up to the ANZAC memorial _

_"__so where next," Kate smiled _

_"__Dinner?" Mike suggested _

_"__sounds great." Kate turned to face him walking backwords "oh did I tell you I got a new posting"_

_"__no where are they shipping you off to? Mike asked _

_"__Sydney!. I have been posted to Anzac so I guess I am staying" she couldn't contain her excitement. The frigates were her favourite and they beat a shore posting any day. _

_"__that's good" he smiled glad that she was happy. "although you may want to look where you are going" he could see where this was heading _

_"__what...Why..." Kate smiled before the inevitable happened _

_He watched in slow motion as she fell backwords in to the memorial pond. _

_Trying not to laugh mike stepped forward holding out his hand to her _

_"__its not even remotely funny Flynn" she glared at him taking his hand. Pulling her self out. _

_Mike was still trying not to laugh. _

_"__mike stop laughing its not funny" she felt like stamping her feet _

_Taking off his jacket he wrapped over her shoulders pulling it around her_

"good night I just heading off watch" she broke her silence.

"Goodnight X" he looked up.

Ursula turned around. "have a good night"

Kate turned to walk away before looking down. Ursula reminded her so much of the girls in high school who had made her life a living hell.

As soon as they docked she couldn't wait to leave the ship. Pushing past Ursula who was still making glad eyes at mike she just wished that this shore leave would be longer and the next few months Hammersley had left would hurry up and end. It wasnt doing her broken heart any good being stuck here with him, watching him with her.

**so I have jumped passed 'ghosts of things past' and 'Irukandji ' as I couldn't see anything that would trigger a flashback for Kate. enjoy **


	6. Chapter 6

Kate sat in her apartment. Hammersley had 2 days shore leave so she had decided to have a clear out. Not that she had much stuff, being on the move every other year meant she had learnt to only keep the bear minimum. hoping it wasnt going to take too long as she was meeting the crew for drinks later that evening she was distracted by something at the back of the wardrobe. Pulling the box out of its hiding space she smiled as it was full of trinkets and photos from the past. There were photos from her time at ADFA and graduation. The miniature sward from the sward she was given for best naval cadet. There were other things little presents she had been given birthday cards from her childhood report cards from high school. Underneath some photos from Sydney and Watsons Bay was a long black box.

_Sydney2002_

_Mike sat opposite Kate pushing a long black box across towards her. _

_"__whats this for?" she asked looking in to his eyes. The box looked expensive from one of the high end jewellers she wouldn't even window shop in. _

_"__well I wanted to give you something to bring you luck for your new posting" he smiled _

_Lifting the lid of the box she found a stunning silver charm bracelet with 5 charms hanging from the links. "its beautiful" she lifted the bracelet out laying it over her wrist. Mike reached over doing up the clasp. "I love it" she smiled allowing the charms to catch the light. _

_She couldn't stop looking at the bracelet. Each charm was exquisite. Lying back in to mikes arms she turned slightly to look at him. "so what is each charm for?"_

_"__well. The compass is to point you in the right direction, the ship is because of your new posting, the St. Christopher is to protect you on your way, the light house is to guide you safely home" he lifted each charm "and the map is so you don't get lost" he grinned _

_"__hey" she hit him "I happen to be a great navigator." She pushed her self up to face him. "thanks to you, and anyway I wont be the Nav on this ship" she leaned in to kiss him "so no chance of getting lost" she whispered in to his ear pushing him backwords_

Pulling out the charm bracelet she lay it over her wrist. She still only had the 5 charms after he had left her she hid it away in a draw and forgot that she had it. A painful reminder of him. Struggling she managed to do up the clasp one handed. The silver had faded and the charms weren't as bright apart from the tiny yellow stone in the top of the light-house it still glittered when it got caught in the light. Maybe it was a sign a light guiding her on to the right path.

She walked in to the bar spotting everyone in the corner she smiled as she ordered her drink at the bar. Walking over to the crew she sat next to Nav and Buffer.

"cute charms X" Nav smiled as Kate took a sip from her drink.

"what" Kate looked at her wrist she forgot to take the bracelet off "this old thing its nothing really" she caught mikes face out of the corner of her eye, she pulled her sleeve down hiding the bracelet. Despite being on the other side of the table he recognised it he was surprised she had kept it all these years. Smiling he made his excuses to leave.

2 days later Kate walked on to Hammersley feeling better after the shore leave. Making straight for her rack she dumped her bag on her rack. She noticed a small square box left on her pillow. Lifting the lid there was a small silver boat charm in the shape of the Hammersley. Carefully she lifted it out of the box. On closer inspection engraved on the hull was 202. The pennant number of Hammersley. She smiled and put it back in the box. There was a not attached to the box that read welcome aboard. M. She placed the box in the draw beside her rack before making her way up to the bridge maybe the next few months wouldn't be that bad. She looked over to Mike she could make this work she only had 4 months left.

**so this is all made up. the next chapter will have bits and flashbacks based on precious cargo. hope you enjoy and please leave a review x **


	7. Chapter 7

Storms at sea were usually amazing to watch. On land. The lighting flashing across the sky in the distance and the waves rolling angerly up the beach crashing against the rocks. At sea however it was totally different. The angry waves crashing against the ship made it difficult to stay on your feet. It was like posiden was seeking revenge on those who dared to sail along his sea and the lighting forking across the skies was like the mighty Thor splitting the heavens open in anger. Trying to keep her balance Kate picked up the radio.

"Charge can you give us anymore revs?" she called

"temps are on the high side and the props are coming clear in the roughest but I guess she can cope with a few more" charges voice crackled back.

They were through the worst of the storm by morning and the sun rose with clear skies. It was a glorious sun rise the sky set ablaze with a spectacular orange glow Unfortunately the main deck had gotten covered with fish swept up in the storm. Fish weren't the only thing swept about in the storm. If it wasnt for RO sorting the mast out then they would have ploughed straight in to a shipping container floating in the middle of the sea. It was a close call if they had been going any faster then they would have hit it head on and breached the hull.

After investigations they found 5 Korean nationals hidden behind a false bulkhead in the container. The conditions were grim inside. None of them spoke any English and all were in a very poor state of health. They then had to answer a call from a pleasure boat reporting a container in the water. They were fishermen who had met spider on Bright island and given him crabs. Most of the crew that were on deck sniggered when this was brought up. They all knew what sort of crabs they were on about but all still read in to the dirty side of things. Even Kate tried not to laugh

Later that morning Kate found mike in the comes centre.

"Sir the buffer said you were down here" she smiled

"just decoding a Deltext" he was tapping away on the computer looking up at Kate.

"Uh" she forgot for a moment why she needed to find him. "none of the Koreans speak any English so getting any useful information out of them is imposable"

"well that's a job for immigration" he smiled

"mm-hm. Those fishermen just now and spiders Crabs. I noticed you eyeballing the boat. You cant seem to get away from bright island can you. Do you think there is more than the official word?" she asked already knowing the answer. He was bordering on obsessed with this it seeped in to every patrol in some way.

"well I am still unclear as to why the feds are involved" he looked up again

"well I am sure if was something serious then they would never have let Ursula Morell back on the island" she smiled politely.

"you would think although she has disappeared and I cant locate her"

"if you are that worried then you should inform the feds" Kate looked at him.

After returning to base to hand over the Koreans to immigration Hammersley was tasked with searching the south west for the suspect boat. One of the men had told RO there was a second container with others inside. There were 3 ships in the area but only 2 were possible to loosing a container in the storm

By Forenoon they were coming up on their first contact looking out at the ship

"I took your advice by the way". He looked over to Kate. "spoke to Agent Murphey about Ursula Morrell. I didn't get much joy there but at least it tried"

"he didn't think her disappearance was suspicious" she tried to hide the fact that she knew this would be the answer. She only suggested it to put his mind at ease.

"he didn't seem react when I told him she had vacated her apartment" he looked worried again

"are you saying what I thi...what are you saying" she looked right at him. He was reading too much in to this.

"I just find it strange when some one ups and leaves with out even a goodbye" he half smiled

"is that right" she walked behind him. This hurt. Why was this so strange when he did the same to her...

_Sydney 2002_

_Kate awoke with the sun streaming in through the window of her new apartment. As she was staying in the city for the foreseeable future she had taken the plunge and applied to have residence off base. The apartment she had rented had amazing views across the city and you could even see the bridge. She had completed her course and was on shore leave for a month before taking up her posting on Anzac. _

_Stretching out she couldn't believe how lucky she was. Noticing the time she had a few hours before she had arraigned to meet Mike in Hyde park. She looked at the charms she had been given only a few weeks before. Something stood out on the ship she hadn't noticed before but carefully engraved on the hull was the pennant number for Anzac glittering in the light. _

_The weather had promised to be glorious and the hottest day of the year so far. Walking through the city she sat in the shade under the trees by the Archibald fountain. The sun was blazing looking at her watch he was late more than that he was very late, they had missed the show they were going to see. Twisting the map charm in her fingers it was unlike him to be late and not tell her he was running late . she got up to leave,. She made to head back to her own apartment before turning on her heal there had to be a good reason as to why he wasnt on time._

_Walking through the town she arrived at his apartment block and slipped in as someone was walking out. Climbing the stairs she walked down the long white washed corridor standing outside his door she knocked and listened there was no sound from inside. _

_"__he's moved out" the old lady who lived next door walked up "navy transferred to a new post yesterday, some where up north I believe" she walked back in to her own flat _

_"__yesterday" Kate stammered not quite understanding _

_Pulling out here phone she pulled up his number to call it rang out of service. Shoving her phone back in her pocket she walked out of the building. She was numb how could he do this to her. _

_Sitting at home the numb feeling turned to anger. She couldn't wait to get on to Anzac and get back out to sea at least they would be at sea for at least 6 months at any one time _

"you really see things in black and white don't you X" mike called

Thankfully RO came in informing them the obvious but it was greatly received Kate escaped bouncing across the waves in the inflatable to the first suspect vessel.

Thankfully they found the second container and caught the smugglers and handed them over to immigration for processing. Kate was in the ports bar with the others. Heading over to the bar she handed her glass over

"let me guess rum straight up" Kate turned to the voice. It was the captain of the first suspect vessel they had boarded that morning "that's what sailors drink isn't it" he smiled

He was quite handsome in a way charming

"only at sea a hundred years ago, now we drink..." she looked at him

She was interrupted by the bar maid placing her drink in front of her, for some reason she felt quite at ease around him. He wasnt her normal type but if mike was aloud to move on then why couldn't she . it had been five years.

**hope you enjoy I am only guessing that mike left with out saying goodbye because of the reactions from both parties after that conversation. enjoy x **


	8. Chapter 8

Kate sat in the tiny sea boat staring in to the darkness and the FFV's that sat ahead of them long lines in the water. It was rare to catch a FFV with the lines in usually they were pulling them out or had just pulled them out and after the past 48 hours what with mayday calls and several crew being poisoned this was absolute gold dust. It was a case of watching and waiting for the CO to give the order to insert.

"X-Ray-2 this is Charlie-2 abort the boarding and return to me" Mikes voice crackled over the radio.

Everyone looked confused but returned to Hammersley. Wrenching the metal door open Kate walked in to the gangway. Spying Nav she turned to the young lieutenant

"why did we abort?" she asked

"three guesses and they all start with Clair and end in mayday"

Kate rolled her eyes and sighed. "your not serious" This was the third time in 2 days that they had had a mayday call from this woman and each time it was suspicious. There was something not right. The last time she claimed to be in fear of her life yet still had time to put on a shark shield. Even if most of the crew did buy this it was still hinky. As Nav said the crew were not thinking with there heads.

"mmHm" Nav replied

"where is the CO" Kate asked

"in his Cabin!"

Kate still in her full boarding gear knocked on the door before pulling back the curtain.

"Clair Watts is crying wolf. She never has been attacked by pirates and even if she had those bandits have been taken off the water. She is making false repots seeking attention for her cause but her maydays are bogus. I would stake my career on it" she paused for breath

"finished" mike looked at her. "you know we cant ignore a mayday..."

Kate sighed resting her arm against the frame of the door banging her head against it wishing it was a wall. He was right but it was frustrating Clair was making fake reports.

"we have a duty of care to render assistance with out prejudice"

"I know but to have the fleet right there long lines in the water and to give that up for a woman who..."

Mike smiled

"what?!" Kate looked right at him

He laughed She always did know her own mind. She was always deeply passionate about the smallest of things. Considering she never wanted to be on the patrol boats she certainly didn't want to let the FFV's get away.

_2002_

_"__so how did you start then?" Kate asked smiling at him. They were walking out of the maze he had set up a treasure hunt in for her as a joke because of getting lost on the previous Monday._

_"__well Started on Hammersley ..."_

_"__the patrol boat?" Kate asked he didn't look like a small ship sort of sailor _

_"__yeah served on Newcastle aswell had shore postings in Penguin and here that's about it. Hammersley was my favourite so I am hoping to transfer back to the patrol boat service soon. Well as soon as a CO position comes up." He smiled she looked shocked "what about you"_

_"__I love the big ships. There is always so much happening and so many ways to show yourself and I need them if I want to become chief of navy" she smiled _

_"__chief of navy?" he was shocked_

_"__well whats wrong with that? There is no point in doing something if you don't aim high" _

_"__nothing. Its good to aim high I suppose."_

_"__any way why the patrol boats is that just basically a customs job?"_

_"__its far more than that. Its not just FFV's and SEIVS. Its protecting the boarders and also assisting in search and rescue"_

_"__sounds dull" Kate rolled her eyes. It wasnt that she didn't like the patrol boats but she had no interest in serving on them they weren't going to help her in her career path. _

It turned out Kate was right and this Clair wanted revenge on the navy for discharging her farther for on good reason in her opinion. Mike had managed to defuse the whole situation and calm things down till they got back to base

Kate was sat in the bar talking to Alisha one of the federal agents investigating the mystery of Bright island. She was good but still wouldn't talk.

"you know what it is they say about loose lips..." Alisha smiled sipping the last of her wine.

The amount of times Kate had actually heard that pun was ridiculous. "nothing a good dose of collegian wouldn't fix" she grinned sipping the last of her own drink.

After one of her fellow lieutenants brought fresh drinks over she walked to the bar where the rest of the crew were. Thankfully buffer and spider had been discharged from the hospital with no ill affects.

"you joining us for a drink X" mike asked #

"I am actually having a drink with..." she turned to the table. Alisha was cosily chatting with Daryl the other lieutenant. "sure why not" she smiled things were getting better and she was feeling more at home on Hammersley but she did want to get back to the big ships she loved and needed for the future.

**so sorry its short but thought this little bit in Rescue me would give a flash back and then couldn't think of one so lost it a little. this flash back is the same one as in chapter 2 with the maze just a little later on. hope you enjoy and please leave a review xxx **


	9. Chapter 9

Kate walked in to her cabin. Dumping her pens on her desk she pulled her boots off . the last few days had been awful and she had been a right cow towards Spider and he was only having a laugh. All those thing she made him do. All the lads were past drunk and spider had dressed up as a rather unflattering version of her and began teasing Chefo. But he could have been killed if he was any closer to that mine.

"so you going to make spider paint salt on his wounds tomorrow?" Nav asked

"I am a bit of a ice queen aren't I" she winced as she said it. Hearing them call her that on the video had hurt. And she could hold a grudge for England but she felt so bad especially seeing that mine going up and the thick cloud of smoke, sand and dust. Not knowing if her crew mate was allright.

"no your not, your a officer" Nav smiled. It was the hardest part about there job. Being a female officer in a male dominated world was tough they all knew they were against it but still the juniors should show respect to the officers above them.

"yeah I am" she flopped back on her rack. She was a ice queen. Look at the way she treated spider all day. She hadn't always been like this she used to love being a office and rarely minded about being in a minority but something changed ever since Watsons bay and after the death of her brother.

_Watsons bay 2006_

_Walking through the base at HMAS Watson Kate felt deflated. She couldn't understand why the brass had asked her to teach the intermediate navigation course. But the brass had mysterious ways of working it was that or fate was biting her in the arse for some previous misdemeanour in a past life. This was cruel she had managed to avoid Watsons bay on account of it only being one of the training bases but now she was stuck and she hoped she could get a ships posting soon and get out off this place which held so many bad memories from three years ago. _

_It didn't help matters that she was in the same class room as when she first met him. Standing in front of the class she waited for them to settle down. She hated being a teacher it was nauseating. _

_"__right intermediate navigation. This course will test your skills and enhance what you all should already know. First task will be to plot a search area based on a scenario. You have 5 minuets and remember every second a person spends in the water is a danger" she called passing out sheets to each of the class. There were only 15 people enrolled so she had managed to come up with a different scenario for each of them. "look carefully at what has happened where your missing was last seen and look at the coast line remember the sand quays and reefs especially if your on the east coast. _

_3 weeks later_

_Walking in to the officers mess Kate sighed she was still stuck at HMAS Watson and each building or court yard and garden held a painful reminder each day a new memory was unlocked. _

_"__so whats your take on that Lieutenant McGregor" a young female lieutenant asked to the fellow officer sat next to her _

_"__not my teacher thank god. I heard the other week one of her class was one degree out on a search and rescue task in the class room and she made the entire class do a 30K navigation trek in full boarding and camping gear as punishment. They call her the ice queen, makes sense though as I heard at ADFA she was called perfect princess McGregor" was the responce. _

_Deciding she wasnt hungry any more she turned on her heal and walked back to her classroom. Shutting the door she sank in to her chair. Hoping and praying that her next posting would be soon and she could leave Watsons bay and head back on to a big ship and move on with her career _

Nav slid off her rack. Stuffing her feet back in her boots.

"I am going to steel some of Chefo's chockie" she smiled

"ooh can you get me some" Kate called pulling her notebook

"oh! Not so little miss perfect after all" Nav laughed

"try telling the crew" Kate sighed trying to get comfy

it was getting better but she still found it hard to deal with how fimilar the crew were with her. The patrol boats were three times smaller than the frigates she was used to and the crew even closer. On a big ship it was easy, the officers kept to them selves apart from over seaing the juniors and giving the orders and you were a lot more anonymous it was eaiser. She would just have to put up with this way for a few more months.

**so hope you like this. the flashback is when Nav was on the navigation course and I am guessing it wasnt long before Kate joined Hammersley, I also don't know what these courses would in tale so I had a guess. enjoy and let me know what you think **


	10. Chapter 10

One of the only things that still got to Kate was the amount of practical jokes that went around. It was common on all ships but for some reason she never noticed it before. Maybe it was to do with how small and confined the patrol boats were that made everything more noticeable. It also seemed worse because they were in port more so the rivalry between sister ships was even more prominent.

This latest escapade saw Hammersley boarded under the cover of darkness whilst in home port and their mascot the mighty Thor. The only suspect was the Kingston who was in port and left at first light and as chefo put it they were still steamed up about Kakadu and being shown up.

"steer 295" Nav called

"steer 295" Swain repeated turning the dials

Nav stepped up looking out of the window it was a clear crisp day

"the Kingston has a good few hours head start on us"

"who says we are going after the Kingston?" Mike smiled sipping his brew

"right Sir of course not" Nav Smiled she had served with mike long enough to know what he was really thinking.

After steaming at full speed for a hour they eventually caught up with the Kingston. Most of the crew were on the deck cheering and jeering at them waving Thor right in their faces. They even had the cheek to dress Thor in bright hot pink hot pants.

"Lieutenant commander Curry, what a unexpected pleasure" mike smiled talking to Kingston over the radio

"As always Lieutenant Commander Flynn" the fake pleasantries were clear for all to hear "I have got that info your after"

Instead of pulling along side the Kingston changed course slightly.

"Sir they were waving Thor right in front of us" Nav called dismayed it didn't feel right with out Thor sailing with them

"I know Nav. They will keep. Re plot a course based on the Kingston's intel. We're going after the pacific mariner"

This was not part of their operations plan and Nav was unsure of disobeying orders but to disobey one meant disobeying the other.

"Nav?" mike handed over the note book.

"yes Sir" Nav whispered

Kate knocked on mikes cabin.

"how did you know the Pacific Mariner would be in the area?" Kate Asked

"everything has to be somewhere X"

Rolling her eyes "please" he was unbelievable he couldn't have been any less obvious

They eventually caught up with the mariner and boarded under the pretence of training. At first mike had given command to Buffer as Kate had made it clear that what they were doing was against orders and was uncomfortable with disobeying NAVCOM especially as they had just given orders to check out a FFV that coast-watch had spotted. She eventually won him round. They couldn't find anything on the Pacific Mariner apart from Dr Morrell. They were just investigating a container with Air vents added; the last thing you would want in the tropics.

"X Fire!" ET called.

Walking to the edge of the ship she couldn't believe the thick grey smoke billowing out from the side of the Hammersley. Her eyes glazed over with fear, fear for him.

_2002_

_It had been a long week and the weather hadn't helped. Thick dark grey clouds hung over the City all week. The cloud formations were quite spectacular in away apocalyptic rings forming round the harbour bridge and the opera house like it was getting sucked of the face of the earth. Or waves crashing up the beach ready to submerge Sydney in water. _

_"__so where are we going in this god awful storm" Kate asked trying to get a good look out the window but with the rain coming down in sheets it was slightly impossible_

_"__all in good time" he smiled looking over at her_

_"__I don't know why we couldn't have stayed in its awful out there" she sulked _

_"__because it will be worth it when we get there." _

_They had been driving out of the city for just over 20 minuets and the rain had slowed to a drizzle. There was a lot of surface water just sitting on the top of the road making driving a nightmare. _

_They were driving along slowly when they came across a accident at the side of the road. Pulling over mike pushed his hazard lights on and carefully got out of the car followed by Kate. There was a car halfway down the embankment at the side of the road. _

_"__call a ambulance Kate its bad" Mike dashed down the embankment towards the car_

_"__mike!" Kate called following him whilst relaying the info to the operator. _

_Looking in the window of the drivers side he saw that the driver was a young woman who was bleeding from a head wound. Wrenching on the door mike tried to force it open. He could smell fuel leaking and that was not a good sign. _

_"__ambos are on the way" Kate called slipping on the mud that appeared on the embankment. "you should wait mike she could have spinal injury's"_

_"__we don't have time there is fuel leaking from the tank. The whole car could blow" he pulled the door managing to get it open. Reaching over he managed to get the woman's belt off and ease her out of the car caring her up to the road laying her down._

_"__my baby" the woman whispered trying to get up_

_"__you've been in a accident the ambulance is on the way" Kate tried to reassure the woman and stop her from getting too destressed _

_"__my baby" she turned her head looking to where the car was. _

_Mike looked how could he have missed that he was sure he had checked. Jumping up he ran back towards the car _

_"__MIKE!" Kate called "leave it to the professionals" she called. She could hear the sirens of the firies and the ambos. He didn't hear or chose not to because he kept on climbing down. _

_"__everything alright love" a paramedic came along side her. _

_"__yeah umm female unconscious to begin with came round after a few minuets, we had to pull her out there is petrol leaking from some where. Umm my boyfriend has gone down there.. there is a infant trapped in the car" Kate stood up, there was thick black smoke billowing up from the car_

_"__MIKE!" Kate screamed as a loud explosion and fire ball shot in to the sky..._

Kate hardly waited for the sea boat to be secured back on its safety tether before she hauled her self up the ladder, weaving her way around the deck she eventually found mike,

"what happened?" she asked panic still heightened in her voice

"Fuel fire in the generator room" he walked around her "its out"

"Are you hurt" she asked. Fuel fire she was instantly taken back to that day. Thankfully he had been unhurt after that accident. As soon as she saw him walk through the smoke cloud cradling the tiny infant in his arms she didn't know whether to slap him for being a stupid idiot or hug him relived that he was unharmed.

"you shouldn't have come back with out Dr Morrell" he looked at her

"the ship was on Fire!" she cried in frustration. Why was he being so infuriating. Standing orders stated that if they were close enough to help then they should and they shouldn't have been on the Mariner in the first place. "are we still operational?" she asked trying to stop the tears of frustration flowing.

"I don't Known re-group on the bridge in 15 minuets" he turned to walk away

"Sir I need a word in private" she cried.

"give me 5 minuets" he smiled

She was glad that Mike had said 5 minuets as she needed them her self she was so wound up with worry for him and frustration that he dismissed her and was only focused on Ursula. Taking a deep breath she pushed her way over to the opposite side of the ship. Looking out at the crystal clear waters she tried to choke back the tears. Why was he doing this. She watched as the Pacific Mariner steamed off towards the horizon. There was something on that boat she was sure of it, but she had blown it coming back to Hammersley had allowed them to escape, she just hoped the consequences wouldn't be too devastating

**so this is based purely on Kates reactions to seeing the fire I guessed it brought something up or she was truly worried about mike because she loved him or both. huge thanks to ALIMOO for the flashback idea. next chapter in think will be on cometh the hour (last epp of S1) hope you enjoy and let me know what you think xx **


	11. Chapter 11

Kate was sat on the bridge filling in operations details. They had been tasked with hunting down Rick Gallagher and the Pacific Mariner full of the Toxins. The AFP had managed to get a tracker on the boat which was activated at dawn. Kate had been surprised that they were off so early and at first light. The tracker had been hidden by Ursula Morrell her self. For some reason Kate still didn't trust her or believe her claims that she had no idea what was going on really it didn't wash. Why would a merchant seaman need to know about a rear toxic crab only found on the shore of one tiny pacific island. It was ludicrous. For some one who was suppose to be intelligent she was rather thick.

"we many not need to board depending on the support situation" Kate looked at Nav who was working on courses and charts.

ET was sat at the helm looking as worried as the rest of the crew. "Ma'am and this toxin , will we need protection"

"yeah" Kate whispered. "according to Dr Morrell its not harmful to marine life. Just humans"

"its all a bit scary isn't it" Nav looked worried. It was the biggest thing she had faced in her short career in the navy and it was on the home front.

"its the armed services sooner or later your going to get put on the hotplate" she half smiled at her cabin mate and friend.

_2003 HMAS Anzac _

_Kate lay awake in her rack trying to sleep. She could hear the sound of the guns in the distance and the occasional loud explosion of a ships typhoon going off from one of the Royal Navy vessels they were supporting. She didn't know what was worse lying there listening to the firing back and forth or being sat on the bridge and hearing calls coming over the radio of the coalition ships and forces giving sit-reps or reporting they had been hit. She had been unfortunate to experience both in the last 3 days. Thankfully the coalition were gaining territory and it looked like they were winning this battle._

_Anzac had been part of a task force supporting mainly British forces with taking control of oil fields and the peninsular and stopping the Iraqi forces gaining this would ultimately allow safe or safer passage for the collation to progress further and achieve their ultimate aim. _

_It was a had watch seeing the smoke rising in the distance and smelling the smell of the gunpowder that hung in the air not knowing who or what had been hit. Was it a enemy attack. Anzac had become the first ship of the RAN fleet to fire in anger since the Vietnam war. Another war with the yanks came to mind for Kate. Was this really an achievement as some of the sailors thought. _

_Rolling over she pulled out her I-pod and turned it up as loud as she could bear trying to drown out the sound of the gunfire and get some sleep. She would need it tomorrow was a new day but they were still in battle._

Kate staired in to space. Her mind still back in '03. The battle had raged for 4 days and may have been won but the war was still raging on with the death toll rising especially that of the British and American forces.

She was brought back to reality when mike walked on to the bridge. He sounded worried

"NAVCOM have lost the tracking signel" he sighed

He was followed by the AFP agent Murphy "or it could just be a malfunction" he was trying to look on the bright side

"or it could be Gallagher has found the tracker and now Ursula is in trouble" mike felt infuriated he couldn't understand why they allowed her to go to Gallagher on her own and with out any help.

After following the last known lat and long from the tracker the bearing but her on a direct course for bright island of all places. Despite the AFP claiming to have searched the island and were unable to find any evidence of criminal activity it had to be where they were heading. It was the perfect place hardly habituated and off the beaten track not to mention it is where the whole escapade started with the death of Lisa Holmes,

The island had been deserted on the west side but there was recent activity. The tracks had been flattened and there were dredge marks along the beach. The only problem was they were too late every evidence of the toxin had vanished apart from one label from the water he had been caring when they had first boarded the mariner when searching for the people smugglers several months back. They now just had to out smart him and figure out his next heading before he reached international waters and would be out of the reach of the navy and the AFP.

**so I am going to issue a huge apology that this is not very good. normally I would re watch the episode but both the channels I use on youtube that have the better quality videos have had cometh the hour blocked in the UK so I am struggling with context. anyway I hope you enjoy and me know what you think x **


	12. Chapter 12

Kate slid down the wall, all she could feel was extreme pain down her left arm. She had immediately clutched it in defence. Slowly lifting her hand she revealed a wound oozing with deep red blood.

"X" mike called dashing to her side from that of Ursula.

"it's fine..." she called weakly feeling the effects of the blood loss "its just a graze.. I'm..." she was feeling drowsy

Swain edged in after hearing the commotion. Rick Gallagher was dead, blead out from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Ursula was shaken but not a scratch. He looked at Kates wound he knew he didn't have the skill or knowledge to deal with that on the ship and she would need to go to hospital.

"sir Keep pressure on that and I'll get my kit" he dashed down knowing every second counted.

Mike continued to squeeze Kate's arm "come on Kate those frigates need all the help they can get" he smiled

She half smiled at him it was the first time in six months that he had accepted her choice of big ships being better. However she had changed she had come to love the smaller ships.

Walking over the gangway she was glad to be home. Kate watched as Ursula was lead away in to the waiting AFP vehicle.

"I'll come to the hospital tonight as soon as I finish up here" mike smiled at her

"there is no need. You heard its a superficial wound" she looked at him "anyway you will be otherwise engaged" she looked over at the AFP car where Ursula was just sitting in. She walked a few paces before turning to face him. She knew he would come. He was always the gallant knight type. "milk chocolate not dark" she smiled before climbing in to the waiting ambulance.

Looking at the clock on the wall it was showing 22;30 throwing her head back in frustration she walked over to the door. Looking through the spy hole she smiled, pulling the door open.

"what do you want mike" she asked

"you discharged your self AMA?" he looked worried

"well I hate hospitals and there wasnt much point and I just wanted to sleep in my own bed. Its just a graze I am fine" she rolled her eyes walking in to the lounge

"I umm got these for you" he handed a bottle of red and the bunch of flowers"

"wow what is all this" she smiled placing the flowers in the sink and wine on the side. "and I cant really drink" she grinned

"oh right yeah I didn't think" he stammered

"its the strong pain killers and the anti-biotics they put me on to stop any infection"

" well I'll make us a brew" he smiled. "guessing the doc didn't say chocolate was off the cards" he smiled pulling out a box of Lindt chocolate truffles from the bag he had been caring.

_2002 Sydney _

_Kate plodded to the door to see what the loud hammering was. Opening the door she blinked at the bright light and saw mike standing on the step._

_"__you look like death" he smiled _

_"I do have the flu you know" she rubbed her head she felt like she had a band crashing around in there. _

_"__I know that that's why I have brought you these" he handed her a crate of oranges _

_"__oranges really" she sighed flopping back on the sofa. She did really want to be back in bed but with Mike around she knew that was impossible. _

_"__I also go you these" he pulled out a box of Green and Blacks Dark chocolate selection box" _

_"__ooooh chocolate now your talking" she grinned as he handed it over. "dark chocolate"_

_"__whats wrong" he asked seeing her face rise and fall faster than the sea viper at sea world _

_"__its dark chocolate"_

_"__so?" he asked _

_"__I cant stand dark chocolate. Milk chocolate only" _

_Mike smiled "well i'll eat these and you can have a lie down and then have the oranges. You need vitamin C" he planted a kiss on the top of her head _

Mike walked over to the sofa carrying the two mug and sat next to her "I wanted to apologise for what happened"

"it wasnt your fault and my arm will heal" she looked at him

"not that. I mean leaving you at Watsons bay. I only did it because I knew you were destring for big things and I just wanted to be on the patrol boats. We would have ended up hating each other as one of us would have had to give up our dream"

"right and you couldn't have left a note" she cried tears starting to fall down her cheeks

"I know I handled things badly I know" he brushed his thumb over her cheek wiping away the tears.

Pulling away "umm I'm really tired and my arm is killing." She looked at him hoping he would get the hint

"well that's why you should have stayed in the hospital then" he smiled grinning she could be really stubborn but that's what made him love her. "I let you rest. See you at the decommissioning. I will let my self out"

Hearing the door shut she allowed the tears to flow. She had waited 5 years to hear him say that but it still hurt. She brushed a stray hair off of her face. Her skin still fizzing with excitement of where he touched. Picking up the box of chocolates she could see it was full of Lindt milk truffles apart from one single dark truffle lay on top. She smiled he had only put the dark chocolate truffle in to wind her up.

Kate walked over the gangway of Hammersley. It was funny how fast the last 6 months had speed by. She had come to enjoy them. The patrol boats were more interesting than she thought but a little bit of her was saying that this was a fluke and most of the time it wasnt as lively or interesting. She listened as mikes voice came over the PA. It was a sad day for most of the crew. It always was when a ship was decommissioned and removed from the fleet. The fate of most of them was sunk or scrapped especially ships of Hammersley's age.

"... and I want each and everyone of you to join me on the new Armadale class patrol boat I have just been informed I am commanding. You are the best ships company a captain could ask for. Thank you all. That is all"

The ship once again fell silent. she walked through the ship towards Mikes cabin. Knocking

"may I? Its time" she smiled

He slid a envelope off the table "your recommendation. For a frigate posting a big ship" he held it out to her.

She staired at it. She had wished of nothing else for the last 6 months but now something had changed she felt different

"actually I was thinking that I would umm" she couldn't get the words out " that I would take you up on your offer to stay, unless of course you want to get rid of me" she staired at him.

"no." He smiled surprised at her complete U-turn on patrol boats. "nothing I appreciate more than loyalty courage and a good throat ripping debate" from the moment he first saw her at HMAS Watson she had always but in a good debate determined to win who ever round to her way of thinking. "so big isn't always best" he smiled

"apparently not Sir" she whispered

"and the arm?" he asked

"healing as we speak"

It wasnt just her arm healing her heart had finally begun to heal after 5 long years. She stood on the quay watching the ships company salute. Mike walked up to the admiral handing him the ensign. He turned slightly looking at her. She felt better and happier. She had made real friends here and although staying wasnt a guarantee she hoped that she could. What harm could another 6 month rotation do, surely experanced on the hardest working half of the navy would look good to the promotion boards and only help her get to her dream

**so thanks for staying with this fic I love all your comments. like with chapter 11 I am sorry for the mess it may sound but as I said the videos I use have been blocked on youtube. anyway hope you love this final chapter and I have done it justice. let me know what you think xx **


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